British plane-spotters 'to be released soon'

A group of British plane-spotters arrested in Greece on suspicion of spying after they took photographs of military jets could be released within days, their defence lawyer said today.

An investigating judge was today considering evidence to establish whether the 12 Britons and two Dutch nationals, arrested earlier this month in the town of Kalamata in south-eastern Greece, will face espionage charges.

Lawyer Yannis Zacharias said he was hopeful the judge would either reduce the charges, in which case they could be released on bail, or drop them altogether, allowing them to go free almost immediately.

The judge was studying reports by Greek intelligence officers on photographs and notebooks belonging to the Britons, who will not be appearing in court today.

Mr Zacharias said the judge would not formally announce his decision until tomorrow but he hoped to be given an indication of the likely course of action later today.

"If the evidence is considered very weak, then the judge may decide to drop the case. But according to previous conversations I have had, he is unlikely to take this course," Mr Zacharias said.

"Alternatively he could turn the charges into a misdemeanour, in which case he has the power to release these people on bail and set a date in the future for their trial.

"This is the most likely to happen, provided that the reports don't say the evidence is very substantial. I would then apply for their immediate release under conditions or restrictions."

However the judge could order the Britons to face full spying charges, which Mr Zacharias said he was "trying not to think about".

One of the problems the group's legal team has faced is explaining to the Greek authorities the hobby of plane spotting, which involves photographing and taking down the numbers of aircraft.

Mr Zacharias said: "It is not a hobby that is well-known in Greece. The judge said there are magazines and books with pictures of planes and their serial numbers available, so he could not understand why these people would need to go and photograph them.

"But I told him it was like a football fan - they would not want to follow a match sitting comfortably on the sofa, they would want to go to the stadium."

But he added: "It has been difficult for us because in the beginning the public was treating it all as a joke. But it is not a joke at the moment."